Amy Van Dyken-Rouen Takes First Steps Since Paralyzing Accident

Amy Van Dyken-Rouen won six Olympic gold medals and is a former world record holding swimmer. The 41-year-old was also in an ATV accident on June 6, 2014 that changed her life forever. The freak incident left her paralyzed from the waist down after severing her spinal cord. But Van Dyken-Rouen has made a remarkable recovery over the last two-and-a-half months. She was transported from Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center (near where the accident occurred in Show Low, Ariz.) on June 18 to Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colo. (incidentally, near Van Dyken-Rouen’s hometown of Denver). Craig is also one of five trial facilities for the Indego, an exoskeleton that, according to its website, is “a powered lower limb orthosis enabling people with mobility impairments to walk and participate in over-ground gait training.”

Van Dyken-Rouen took to Instagram Thursday to post the first videos of her wearing the Indego and taking her first steps with the assistance of medical technology. Truly amazing.

Her long-term prognosis is unknown. In the meantime, Van Dyken-Rouen will continue her rehabilitation.